Have a pre-approval in hand so you know exactly what you can afford to buy.

WHY: A pre-approval will let you know exactly what you can afford to purchase and what your mortgage payment will be. In this competitive market where you have more buyers than homes to sell it is extremely important that we package your offer so you will have the edge over other prospective buyers. That is when the pre-approval comes into play. A seller puts more weight on a pre-approved offer than he does on a higher price; a buyer can always come up on price but can't change his qualifications.

Call us to sign up for our automated email system: so you don't miss out on any properties that are in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in the state of Massachusetts.

Once you have decided on what to preview please contact us to set up your appointments, we can either meet you at the property or at our office.

Steps a buyer takes to purchase a home from offer to closing:

Before starting their home search, buyers call a lending institution to get pre-qualified and set up an appointment for a pre-approval.

Buyer makes an offer in writing accompanied by a check to show good faith, usually $500 to $1,000

Contact your bank or mortgage company to find out your buying power and options for different loan types.

FOR SALE BY OWNER

The following procedures should be exercised if you are going to try to sell your property directly:

If someone calls on your advertisement, get their name and phone number and tell them you will call them right back. You want to get as much information about your caller as you can to qualify them as a possible buyer.

Do not put a "For Sale by Owner" sign on your property. This invites strangers to come to your door at any time of the day or night and also relaxes any "crime watch" on the part of your neighbors regarding strangers being on your property.

Alert your neighbors that you are selling your home directly. Ask them to be more aware of stranger activity on your property.

Remember that just because you do not put anything except your phone number in the advertisement, finding your address is a relatively simple thing to do. There are many cross-reference directories and web based programs readily available that can be used to gain an address based solely on a phone number.

Never show your home unless another adult is present.

Make strict rules with your children that they are not to let any strangers in under any circumstances! Adolescent children who do not understand the situation and are trying to be helpful can easily be persuaded.

Do not give people any indication as to when your property will be left unattended. For instance, "We can only show our home in the evening since we both work." or "We are going away for the weekend."

After showing people through your property, recheck all the locks on exterior doors, windows and basement entries. It only takes a second for someone to unfasten these.

Do not demonstrate burglar alarm systems, its power source location or cut-off switches. Be cautious of anyone wanting such a demonstration before actually purchasing the property.

We hope this information will be helpful to you and that your move will be a safe one.